B J 

S3 



■ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

%p^ - ©ws¥ ty — 

Shelf. S3.... 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



An Object in Life 



AND 



HOW TO ATTAIN IT 



BY 



/ 

F. LEOPOLD SCHMIDT, Jr. 




PUBLISHED FOB THE AUTHOR BY 

FOWLER & WELLS CO., 

775 Broadway, 



NEW YORK, 



• 



.5* 



Copyright, 1889, 

BY 

F. LEOPOLD SCHMIDT, Jr. 



" A word to the wise is sufficient." Read ! 

" Give instruction to a wise man ; and he will be yet wiser: 
teach a just man, and he will increase in learning/' — Prov- 
erbs IX. 

" He that gathereth in summer is a wise son ; but he that 
sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." — Proverbs X. 

"O blessed retirement, friend to life's decline, 
Retreats from care, that never must be mine, 
How happy he who crowns in shades like these, 
A youth of Labour with an age of ease; 
Who quits a world where strong temptations try, 
And, since 'tis hard to combat learns to fly." 

—Goldsmith. 



PREFACE 



In presenting 1 to the public this my first work 
which for the want of a more appropriate name, 
might be called, if it may not be considered as a 
liberty, a small treatise, I shall deem it necessary 
to make a few prefatory remarks and reflections, 
upon the subject of what I have written, in order 
that those who may favor it with their kind peru- 
sal may the better enter into the sense and spirit 
of the matter it contains. 

When a new book is presented to the world, 
the oft-repeated question, " Cui Bono? " * natur- 
ally arises. To answer it, I shall simply state as 
follows : that the special aim of this little trea- 
tise is ; first, to show the reader in what a true 
and worthy object in life consists; secondly, to 
implant true and noble sentiments in his mind; 
thirdly, to give him a higher idea of life than 
that which is generally diffused among mankind; 
fourthly, to fill him with a burning desire to pur- 
sue such a worthy object in life ; fifthly, to im- 
plore him to cast aside the sloth which ma} r have 

* " To what purpose? " 



6 

overcome his mind; and sixthly, and lastly, to 
try to guide him along- the right path to attain 
the object which his predominating inclinations 
urge him on to pursue. These are a few of the 
principal aims to which this little treatise mod- 
estly attempts to lead the way. The reader, in 
order to tell whether the attempt be successful 
or not, must peruse the work, and then judge 
wisely for himself. 

It must not be thought that this little treatise 
presumes to guide those honorable men and wo- 
men, who are already in the successful pursuit of 
some worthy object in life, although it is hoped' 
that even they may glean a few points of new and 
agreeable food therefrom ; for every one views 
the same object in a different light, though the 
difference may be only a shade. It is, however, 
intended more especially for young men setting 
out upon the race-course of life ; for all, whether 
young or old, who are not pursuing any worthy 
objects in life ; and for those, who, though they 
are pursuing some worthy object in life, do so 
with little or no success. 

With respect to the conviction of certain truths 
upon the mind of the reader, I have tried to be 
particularly careful to illustrate them by copious 
examples, knowing that these, by picturing the 
ideas to the mind, make more deep and lasting 
impressions upon it, as well as affording it more, 
pleasing food than cold, stiff reasoning. In regard 



to style, I have also tried to be most careful 
throughout the work, sparing neither labor nor 
time, to present the whole in as perfect a method 
as possible, and to put all thoughts in strong, 
clear, and simple terms, so that nothing might 
be imbibed in the reader's mind with confusion. 

Some may object that this little treatise is not 
entirely original, and that the truths it lays down 
are old and have already been widely sown. To 
answer these possible objections, I would say that 
it does not pretend entirely to originality of 
thought, though in method and arrangement, in 
most of the remarks and reflections, in examples, 
illustrations, and figures, there may be found 
much that is new and interesting. If the truths 
laid down in it have already been widely sown, 
they have not, however, reached to such maturity 
in their growth, as must be evident to every ob- 
serving person, but that a little trimming up and 
watering, may give them a new start in other di- 
rections, to bring them to greater perfection. 
Further, such truths, like others from their im- 
portance to mankind, admit of frequent repeti- 
tion. They are not as the sentiments of wit, 
which when once served up become stale, but 
rather as the sentiments of humor, which, when 
good, the more we taste of them the greater does 
our relish become. Finally, those to whom the 
most of these truths may be already known, 
should remember that they form the minority, and 



8 

that all are not so fortunate as themselves, in the 
possession of such valuable knowledge, and should, 
therefore, consider the vast number of individuals 
for whom this work is particularly intended. 
There ma}' be, and, undoubtedly, there are, many 
other works treating upon this important subject 
in a more scientific way than that to which the 
present little volume pretends to do; but these 
from their length, cost, and difficulty, and from 
their treating upon many different subjects in the 
same volume, are restricted to the reading of the 
few, and are not open to those general readers 
whose time and inclinations prevent them from 
entering into such wide and difficult, though most 
important, fields of research. 

A few suggestions, especially, to young read- 
ers, as to the manner in which this treatise should 
be read, may not be out of place here, especially, 
if we consider for a moment, its great aim. There 
are few men who read books as they ought to be 
read. These, however, by slow, careful, deliber- 
ate, and thoughtful perusals, gain more real 
knowledge out of one page than a dozen other 
men, who skim over the leaves like a sea-gull 
on the waves, leaving no impression of its dips 
behind, would do of the whole volume. The gen- 
eral tendency in reading, as in all things, is to be 
too hasty. We thus lose the sense of half that 
we read, and, consequently, the thoughts them- 
selves soon pass like a shadow from our minds. 



9 

Now, I would thus advise my less maturer read- 
ers ; that, if they wish, in their perusals, to gain 
any useful knowledge from this, or any other 
treatise which pretends to anything of worth, to 
do so slowly and thoughtfully. They should be 
as careful to repel all errors as they are to imbibe 
all truths ; and when they have finished the work, 
I would again advise them to try and recall to 
mind all that which they have learnt. If they 
can then bring up in their minds all the important 
points laid down, they have then, certainly, done 
well. If not, I would advise them to read the 
work over again till they can, knowing that the 
most learned never satisfy themselves till they 
have read a worthy volume over from five to six 
times. 

The great aim of this little treatise being to 
disseminate good, and to try to bring down a little 
of the sunshine of Heaven to warm the hearts of 
all who may peruse it, I would just mention that 
I should feel myself most grateful, if those just 
critics who may cast their eagle eye over its 
pages, will kindly overlook any little minor errors 
into which I may have fallen in this my first work; 
for even in the works of the most learned such 
mistakes are often found, and, therefore, much 
more are they to be expected in the work of one 
who pretends to no such greatness. With these 
few introductory words, I now submit this my 
first public essay, to the just and careful perusal 



10 

of my reader, and if lie be able to pick from out 
its pages any useful knowledge for himself, I 
stall consider myself more than fully repaid. 

Respectfully, 

The AuthoRo 



AN OBJECT IN LIFE 

AND 

HOW TO ATTAIN IT. 



The particular class of objects in life which, in 
any land, the majority of the inhabitants pursue, 
have the greatest material influence over the wel- 
fare of the nation. 

A glimpse of history will show us that all na- 
tions which have made certain high and noble 
objects in life, the goal of their ambition, have 
steadily advanced in strength, wisdom, and civi- 
lization, to hold high and powerful positions, 
among the other nations of the world ; while, on 
the other hand, those nations which have pursued 
meaner and lower objects in life, have either re- 
mained at a stand-still, or else, have sunk, deeper 
and deeper, into the always deceptive mires of folly 
and error, till at last, as it were by a whirlwind, 
their very existence has been swept from the face 
of the earth. Thus, on account of the luxury and 
ease into which she had fallen, we have seen with 
awe the utter annihilation of the once proud Yen- 
ice ; thus, on account of wars, slavery, and a stop 



12 

or decay in science, literature, and art, we see, at 
the present time, the stand-still of Turkey and of 
the Barbai-y States of Africa. On the other hand, 
on account of science, art, and literature taking 
the lead, Ave see the wealth, power, and civilization 
of many different states of modern Europe ; and, 
thus also, on account of freedom, together with 
the unrestrained promotion of art, science, and 
literature, we see the rise of the nation, destined 
to be the mightiest on earth, — the United States 
of America ; a nation which is slowly but surely, 
leading the peoples of the world to a higher plane 
of knowledge and power, which promises at no 
distant period to crumble in the weakening walls 
of monarchies and despotisms. 

Now, the influence which certain definite objects 
in life possess, is not only exerted over the welfare 
of nations, but also, over that of4ndividuals. In 
our own country, as well as in all others, w^e see 
daily around us men, both young and old, who, 
by giving way to luxury, ease, and folly, and who 
by giving free and unrestrained indulgence, to 
their animal passions and appetites, especially 
that most contemptible as well as cowardly vice, 
technically termed dipsomania, but commonly 
known as drunkeness, are lowering and wasting 
their lives more and more, every day of their 
miserable existence. Others there are who re- 
main at a stand-still, following in the footsteps of 
their fathers, grand-fathers, and great-great- 



13 

grand-fathers, neither wishing to put themselves 
into lower positions than their much-esteemed an- 
cestors, nor to rise higher ; but are thoroughly 
satisfied with what they possess, utterly regard- 
less of the misery of others, with the world and 
what is in it, and, alas ! too often contented with 
their own perfect selves. Lastly, there are others 
who wish to do all. the good that they can, who 
wish to promote civilization and happiness, and 
to make themselves and others, better than they 
are — in short, who wish to be of as much use to 
mankind, in general, as possible. They are the 
only true, good, great, noble, and honorable men; 
and the greater the increase of their number, the 
f a ster will be the progress and the higher the civil- 
ization, of the world. 

An object in life may be defined as being some 
one pursuit which, if followed by an individual 
along the right path, will tend to raise him, in 
certain respects, among the people of the world, 
to a higher, better, and happier state of life than 
that which he has been leading. By a higher 
state of life, we do not necessarily mean the world- 
ly possessions of rank or pow x er ; but we do mean 
the possession of that power which will enable us to 
control by our intellectual and moral faculties, as 
far as possible, our many glaring passions, ap- 
petites, and tendencies to vices and animal traits. 
Further, when Ave speak of a better state of life, 
we point to that state of life, in the paths of which 



14 

Christ, our Saviour, wishes us, as good Christians, 
faithfully to walk ; and lastly, when we speak of 
a happier or lovelier state of life, we point to that 
where peace, contentment, and good will toward 
God and man reign supreme. 

We have now, on the one hand, fully seen in 
what an object in life consists. On the other hand, 
let us further consider in what it does not consist; 
for to be perfectly sure of our positions we must 
not only look to the right side of things, but also, 
to the wrong, in order that we may guard against 
the many deceptive dangers into which we are lia- 
ble to fall. To be as concise as possible, then, we 
shall only state that a true object in life does not 
consist in merely glutting and gorging ourselves 
with food ; in being merry, drinking and suffer- 
ing the terrible consequences ; nor in wasting- our 
lives in our beds, dreaming of the beautiful pros- 
pects which shall never be. Such a life is not wor- 
thy the pursuit of so high a being as man, and is 
merely the life of a dog or any other animal ; 
though we may justly say, of the two, that of the 
animal is much the nobler ; since an animal will 
rarely eat, sleep, and drink more than is good for 
him. Finally, neither does a true object in life con- 
sist in the mere clothing and decorating our bodies, 
instead of our minds, in fine goods, trinkets, and 
the like ; nor in wasting, by idle pursuits and am- 
usements, our time, brains, and existence with 
which God has been merciful enough to endow us. 



15 

Having* now considered, in a general sense, in 
what an object in life consists, and in what it does 
not consist, we shall proceed to lay before the 
mind of our reader such a goodly variety of in- 
dividual pursuits, under the orders and classes to 
which they respectively belong, that everybody 
of common capacity may be led to find herein 
something 1 particularly adapted to his several 
abilities. 

The trades form the first class of the first order 
and open to those who may wish to pursue such a 
course a wide, interesting, and useful variety of 
branches. For examples, we have the shoe-maker, 
without whom we should needs go bare-footed ; 
the saddler, who makes our beautiful harness ; the 
mason, who lays the foundations of our houses ; 
the blacksmith, who shoes our horses and makes 
our carriages ; the cabinet-maker, who constructs 
our chairs, tables, beds, and other furniture ; and 
the carpenter, who builds our houses. The trades 
are almost innumerable, and might truly fill a 
book with their names and descriptions; but the 
above examples, without mentioning any more, 
will suffice for all present purposes, and will easily 
open to the mind of the reader the way to others. 

Some persons will sneer with contempt at such 
objects in life as the trades, as being utterly be- 
neath them, and will scorn all those that follow 
such pursuits ; but, surely, no pursuit, howsoever 
humble it may be, so long as the following it be 



16 

honest and useful to mankind, needs such con- 
tempt. Many good, wise, and great men who 
have followed such objects in life, have raised 
themselves to the highest honors in the world, 
considering, at the same time, their pursuits so 
far from degrading that they, in the very height 
of their prosperity, have not discontinued to follow 
them. Peter the Great of Russia, though in the 
exalted position of emperor, was not ashamed to 
work in the yards for two years as a ship car- 
penter. If, then, such men as he consider it no 
degradation to follow such pursuits, meaner men, 
who have nothing very much to boast of, have, 
certainly, no right to disdain. 

We next proceed to the second class of the first 
order, which we shall term as being the agricul- 
tural, commercial, and state affairs and business, 
of a nation. These, necessarily; differ in a great- 
er or less degree, according to the clime or the 
form of government in any particular state ; but 
a few instances in our own country, the United 
States of America, will not, for ourselves, be 
inappropriate. Under the head of agricultural 
pursuits, we have the farmer, the gardener, the 
florist, the rancher, and the planter ; under the 
head of commercial pursuits, we have the shop 
keeper, the office boy, the clerk, the insurance 
man, the broker, and the retail and wholesale mer- 
chant ; and under the head of state pursuits, we 
have the constable, the sheriff, the alderman, the 



17 

judge, the lawyer, the mayor of villages and cities, 
the representative of Congress, the senator, and 
the governor of States. We here have, certainly, 
a numerous array from which many may be able 
to choose. 

Thus far we have only considered a lower order 
of pursuits, — pursuits which, though the following 
them is highly honorable, and absolutely necessary 
to the welfare of mankind, yet requiring no great 
geniuses for their perfect performance ; but we 
shall now climb several steps higher in our ascent 
up the steep mountain, and arrive at a nobler and 
more elevated and soul-inspiring order, — the arts; 
an order which, to bring them to the zenith of 
perfection, requires geniuses of the highest degree. 

The arts may be divided into two classes, as 
follows : First, the useful arts, or those which 
are necessary to promote the comfort and ease of 
mankind ; and, secondly, the elegant arts, arising 
in leisure moments, to fill man's mind with all 
that is pure, noble, and elevated. Among the 
former, we may just mention the pursuits of the 
architect, the military and civil engineer, the 
surveyor, and the soldier ; among the latter, the 
artist, the author, the orator, the poet, and the 
sculptor. 

Continuing our steps higher up this steep as- 
cent, we, finally, come to the sciences, which form 
the last and most sublime order of all the pur- 
suits, and which place man, the lord and ruler of 



18 

the earth, at the very pinnacle of all his glory 
and power. To attempt in this limited space to 
ennmerate all the sciences, would not only be 
out of place, but would be impossible. We must, 
therefore, be content with mentioning- the follow- 
ing few, which will, it is hoped, put the curious on 
the right path to others. In the first place, 
then, beginning from the peak and descending, we 
mention the sublimest of all sciences, theology, 
which treats of the existence, character, and at- 
tributes of God, the Creator of both man and 
earth ; in the second place, we mention meta- 
physics, or the science of the mind ; in the third 
place, we mention phrenology, which treats of the 
functions of the brain ; in the fourth place, we 
mention astronomy, which treats of the heavenly 
bodies ; in the fifth place, we mention natural 
philosophy, which treats of the laws of light, 
sound, heat, attraction, electricit}^, and magnet- 
ism ; in the sixth place, we mention chemistry, 
w T hich treats of the composition and changes of 
matter ; and in the seventh and last place, we 
mention natural history, which treats of animals, 
insects, plants, fishes, and reptiles. Here, then, 
are a goodly number of sublime, interesting, and 
useful pursuits, suited to many different minds ; 
and which will open to those that pursue them 
a never-failing source for a lifetime of research 
and pleasure. 

An object in life, which comes under the head of 



19 

one of the two last-mentioned orders, may be 
truly compared to a stately enchanted castle of 
white granite or marble, situated on a rich dark 
green crest of a high, but gentle and beautiful 
sloping, shady mountain. In the interior of this 
magnificent and imposing edifice, there are, con- 
nected by gracefully winding marble staircases, 
innumerable large and small, narrow and wide, 
long and short, high and low, halls, rooms, ante- 
rooms, closets, and whole apartments, fitted up 
in a manner most gorgeous and pleasing to the 
eye, and filled with a variety of endless treasures. 
These retreats are open to all who will walk 
diligently into them, affording not only pleasure 
to the eye, but research to the mind. 

The walls in the interior of this castle are 
covered with the most beautiful pieces of tapestry 
embroidered in threads of shining gold and sil- 
ver, intermingled with soft silks of blue, yellow, 
green, purple, white, and orange, picturing to the 
eye scenes of soft, lovely vales, solitary lakes, 
dark, shady woods, rough,rocky mountains, lively 
hunts of the stag, and terrible hard-fought bat- 
tles. Here and there, hanging from a white or 
blue silken cord, from a nail of polished gold 
fastened above in the nicely decorated walls, is to 
be seen a life-like picture of some fair, smiling 
goddess of the place, in a frame of pure white 
ivory or of beaten silver. In nooks or corners, 
conspicuous to the eye, but partly screened by 



20 

blue and orange silken curtains, gently held back 
by delicate loops of twisted cord, as though to 
hide them from the vulgar eye, are the beauti- 
fully symmetrical marble statues of laughing 
nymphs, strong hunters of the boar, and warriors 
stern, who once held high and respected po- 
sitions in the castle, showing others to what they 
may rise. 

Surrounding the building on every side are 
shady green woods of soft, delicate firs, sweeping 
maples, sheltering chestnuts, and firm and stately 
oaks, wavering lazily to and fro, as the soft, cool 
breezes rustle gently through their outspread 
branches and hanging leaves. Innumerable w^ell- 
made trodden and untrodden paths, in all direc- 
tions wind pleasantly through these beautiful 
woods ; and now and then to the right or left, is 
seen a pure, clear, cool fountain of crystal waters, 
sparkling brightly in the dancing, golden rays of 
the smiling sun, or else a dark, shady overhang- 
ing vista of green, through which the eye may 
feast itself with delight on a distant beautiful 
lake, river, dale, village, or mountain below. At 
intervals along these paths are trees clothed with 
leaves of glittering silver, and hung with many 
different varieties of fruit of solid gold. These 
golden fruits are the fruits of knowledge, which in 
juice, quality, and flavor vary exceedingly, and 
of which the more one eats, the less becomes one's 
self-esteem, the more perfect becomes one's taste, 



Si 

and the greater the desire to satisfy one's increas- 
ing- appetite. Such is the wealth, and such are 
the many beautiful charms of this enchanted 
castle and the grounds surrounding it ; such is 
the wealth, and such are the many beautiful 
charms of the arts and sciences. 

Having now clearly shown that there are in 
the world an almost- infinite number of pursuits, 
adapted to every mind and to every position in 
life, we sincerely hope that the reader, if he has 
already done so, will never, again, be guilty of 
committing the unpardonable falsehood that, ' 'now- 
adays there is nothing for a man to do." 

The necessity of pursuing an object in life ought 
to be evident enough even to all ordinary minds, 
when seeing that no man who does not pursue 
one can ever hope to be successful, or even hope 
for any length of time to live in tolerable comfort, 
except by the support of friends and relations— a 
contemptible mode of life for one who has even 
but a grain of common sense ; still, as in all cases 
there are many doubters of the truth, and as 
these are the very persons whom we wish to re- 
form, we shall try to make our arguments so very 
clear and strong, that they must see, whether they 
will or not. 

On the one hand, then, we shall first look to a 
few of the hundreds and thousands of men, who 
have been successful in life. What do we observe 
in every one of them ? We observe in one and all 



22 

of them, that they have each had his fixed object 
in life. In England, for instances, we have Glad- 
stone, the orator and statesman ; Pope, the poet, 
and Newton, the most learned of men : in Ger- 
many we have Goethe and Schiller, poets of the 
highest degree : in France we have the learned 
Descartes ; and Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest 
of generals, either ancient or modern : and, lastly, 
in America, we have Washington, the father of 
Americans, who, with purity of purpose, bravely 
wrenched the liberty of his country from the 
grasp of oppression and tyranny ; Patrick Henry, 
that fiery patriot and orator, whose masterly 
eloquence aroused his countrymen to arms in 
their defense ; Daniel Webster, at the head of a 
galaxy of statesmen ; and, finally, in our own 
time, the great orator and preacher, Henry Ward 
Beecher, whose latest signal effort in behalf of 
his country taught England on her own shores 
that the cause of American freedom and nation- 
ality, determined to triumph in spite of her oppos- 
ed wishes and efforts. These are but a very few 
of the hundreds of great men who have succeeded 
in the world. How did they do so ? Was it by 
indulging in idle wishes or luxurious living, wiiile 
they neglected their brains ? or by wasting their 
time and lives, in silly and idle amusements, in- 
stead of turning them to account ? or by grum- 
bling over their ill-fate and doing nothing to better 
it ? or by heeding the sneers, laughter, and wisdom 



2 



a 



of fools about them? No, they did not; a thou- 
sand times, no. Every one of them had his fixed 
object in life, and, live or die, they were determined 
to pursue them over all obstacles and to succeed. 
Thus we see to what success men must rise when, 
in the right course, they are determined to pur- 
sue an object in life. 

On the other hand,, we see around us, in every- 
day life, tens of thousands who are unsuccessful, 
not because they are incapable of being* so, but 
just because they are too indolent to put their hands 
to the helm, and pursue a worthy object in life. 

Foppio is a young man who thinks of nothing 
else but of society, parties, balls, and dinners. His 
father died some time ago, leaving him a little 
money. He, immediately, poor soul ! married a 
fair young lady with little wisdom in managing 
affairs, and with whom he was desperately in love. 
In process of time two comely children were 
added to their number, increasing their cares and 
consuming their means. He would not, though 
often urged by his good little wife, pursue an 
object in life ; but wasted his time and brains, 
and spent the little money he had in silly and idle 
amusements. He thus, soon ran through all his 
possessions, and was, at last, obliged to find a 
home in the poor-house. Here recent reports in- 
form us that he died in utter despair, leaving be- 
hind him his poor wife and children, groveling in 
the very depths of misery. 



24 

Drunkino is another, but more contemptible 
being who will not pursue an object in life. He 
gives up all for the gratification of the present, 
and never gives so much as a thought to the aw- 
ful consequences awaiting his future. People 
say that he is drunk more times than he is sober. 
He is, at last, brought to an early, miserable, and 
cowardly grave, attended with all the fearful con- 
sequences of such a misguided life, which he 
might have foreseen by a few hours' consideration 
of the miserable lives and ends, of many others. 
There is very little hope for Drunkino, unless he 
will, before it be too late, cast away the bottle 
and form stronger and better resolutions for the 
future. 

Lastly, we come to Luxurio, who, the other day, 
was left by his father a large fortune. He has a 
sweet, lovely wife and five" boys ; he has his 
horses and carriages; his two houses, one in 
town, and the other in the countiy ; and, in fact, 
everything, that is which is worldly, that wealth 
can bring him. He lives like a prince ; continu- 
ally gives entertainments ; throws his money 
about like wild-fire ; and does nothing but eat, 
sleep, drink, and be merry. He brings up his 
children, as is natural enough, in the same way. 
Now, if Luxurio had a particle of sense, he would 
foresee that by living in this way he is planting 
the seeds of poverty for his future generations, 
and that they, too, are fated, like those above, to 



25 

die, either in the poor-house, or of cold and star- 
vation. Let Luxurio pursue some worthy object 
in life, and set such a good example to his sons, 
and he need never fear that Want, with his grim, 
meager face, will ever appear in the midst of his 
family. 

Thus far we have considered those who have 
pursued objects in life and those who have not ; 
and we have also seen the consequences which 
are sure to follow both. We shall now further 
show that the influence of civilization makes it 
an absolute necessity to pursue an object in life. 

The world, by the aid of hundreds of good, no- 
ble, wise, and ingenious men and women, is ris- 
ing every day to a higher condition, and those 
who do not keep pace with it, by employing their 
brains in some useful pursuit to enable them to 
do so, will, as sure as one generation leaves an- 
other, be left behind in utter despair. To be 
thoroughly convinced of this we have only to 
look at the barbarous countries of the world. 
What is the chief cause of their degradation, 
weakness, and standstill ? It is due merely to 
their stupid blindness ; their aversion to civiliza- 
tion and innovation for the better; their dislike to 
pursuing noble objects, as savoring too much of 
the things of a better world in which they try not 
to believe ; and their love of living merely to grat- 
ify their selfish and short-lasting animal desires, 
bask in the sun, and fight among their lazy selves. 



26 

In our own civilized country we have only, with 
very little trouble, to trace the lives of hundreds of 
men and women, and their successive generations, 
to arrive at the above glaring- causes of all their 
unsuccessf ulness, and to see, that on this account, 
civilization and happiness is leaving them far be- 
hind to die in their misery and folly. It is also true 
that circumstances may be greatly against one, 
and the rule is that they are ; but conditions can 
seldom be so bad but that, if one wishes to do so, 
one cannot better one's self by modifying or over- 
coming them. 

Lastly, we shall quote from St. Matthew's in the 
Bible, the following parable of the talents, in 
which Christ clearly shows that every man and 
woman, whether high or low in rank, rich or 
poor, talented or not, must employ his or her 
brains, according to his or her several abilities, in 
some useful pursuit ; and that he or she who does 
not do so, must, "as an unprofitable servant," 
suffer the terrible consequences. 

" For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travel- 
ing into a far country, who called his own ser- 
vants and delivered unto them his goods. And 
unto one he gave five talents, to another two, 
and to another one ; to every man according to 
his several ability ; and straightway took his 
journey. Then he that had received five talents 
went and traded with the same, and made them 
other five talents. And likewise he that had re- 



&7 

ceived two, he also gained other two. But he 
that had received one went and digged in the 
earth, and hid the lord's money. After a long 
time the lord of those servants cometh, and reck- 
oneth with them. And so he that received five 
talents came and brought other five talents, 
saying, Lord, Thou cleliverest unto me five tal- 
ents; behold, I have gained besides them five 
talents more. His lord said unto him, Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant ; thou 
hast been faithful over a few things, I will 
make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou 
into the joy of thy lord. He also that had re- 
ceived two talents came and said, Lord, Thou 
deliverest unto me tw T o talents ; behold, I have 
gained two other talents besides them. His 
lord said unto him, Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; 
enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he 
which had received one talent came and said, 
Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, 
reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering* 
where thou hast not strewed, and I was afraid 
and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, 
there thou hast that is thine. His lord answer- 
ed and said unto him, thou wicked and slothful 
servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed 
not, and gathered where I have not strewed ; 
thou oughtest, therefore, have put my money to 



28 

the exchanger's, and then at my coming" I should- 
have received mine own with usury. Take, 
therefore, the talent from him, and give it to him 
which hath ten. For unto every one that hath 
shall he given, and he shall have abundance ; but 
from him that hath not shall be taken away 
even that which he hath. And cast ye the un- 
profitable servant into outer darkness; there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

Many and great are the advantages which an 
object in life will bring us. The following are 
the principal ones : — 

The first advantage which an object in life may 
bring us is happiness ; and it is one which is 
worth more than bushels of gold and silver, to 
him who is fortunate enough to possess it. 

Moralo is a good young man. His one great 
object has alwaj^s been to lead a life of temper- 
ance and chastity. When he goes into company, 
he is particularly careful to observe the vices, 
passions, follies, and prejudices of others, so that 
he may, if possible, root them out of himself. On 
the other hand, he is very careful to take to him- 
self their virtues. He is respected and loved by 
all sensible persons wherever he goes ; and he 
lives a perfect life of happiness, not simply be- 
cause others respect and follow his teachings, 
but because such a life as he leads, makes it a 
necessity for him to do so. 

Benevolencimo is a pure, lovely, charitable 



29 

lady. Her one grand object in life is to provide 
for, and attend to, the poor, the weak, and the 
aged. Though she is but fairly well off, she 
manages to relieve many sufferers by her kind 
care ; and she does so in such a kind, gracious, 
good-natured way, that those whom she has 
benefited absolutely worship her. People justly 
praise her for her many good and charitable 
deeds. On my once inquiring, she told me that 
she received more real pleasure from the mere 
consciousness of going about and relieving the 
suffering than she did from the praises of the 
whole world. " To see a human being suffering," 
said she, " or even to know that such a one ex- 
ists, and not be able to help him, oh ! it would 
cause me the greatest pain." Surely the noble 
pursuits of this pure woman, who might be an 
example to others, bring her the greatest happi- 
ness. 

Divino is the preacher of a goodly flock. 
Though he has been in charge of it but a short 
time, he has greatly increased its number, re- 
gardless of the toil and time devoted in doing 
so. He strives, particularly, to reform deserters, 
and is always happiest when he has brought a 
stray lamb back to the fold. 

For those that desire it, an object in life will 
fill their pockets with wealth. They have only 
to speak the charmed words, " Open sesame" 
and lo ! before them, in the cave^ is gold and 



30 

silver enough with which to build them a palace. 
It is true that they must enter the cave them- 
selves and carry out all that they desire ; for no 
workmen are there but themselves, and there- 
fore, unless they do this, they will never feel the 
glittering* metal tingling in their eager fingers, 
though they may glut their eyes on the delicious 
feast forever. 

If Fakmio did not work hard during the har- 
vest, he would not be able to live in ease dur- 
ing the winter. As it is, however, he requires 
wealth, and by laboring diligently while he is yet 
young and strong, he has it. He is the possessor 
of a fine house, barns, stables, granaries, out- 
houses, and of a hundred-acre farm. He has also 
a buxom wife and five strapping young urchins. 
Every acre of land, by the cost of honest sweat, 
brings in its yearly handfuls of gold. But 
Farmio, though not avaricious, is wisely laying 
aside, in order to provide for old age and to as- 
sist his sons, as every parent should do, when 
they must set out in the world for themselves. 

Merchantus has also a great liking for the 
shining lucre ; but, at the same time, he man- 
ages to do with it a great deal of good, though 
not always, intentionally. Once he could count 
upon the fingers of his two hands all the dollars 
that he received per week. Now, however, he has 
under him in his employ hundreds of men. If 
each man had a hundred hands, they could not 



31 

count up together on their fingers all the dollars 
which he now receives. Says Merchantus, " If a 
man wishes to be wealthy, he must begin at the 
bottom of the ladder, planting his feet firmly on 
one step at a time, and then crawl up, carefully, 
to the top." 

Honor is a third advantage which an object in 
life will bring us.. This is truly a great advan- 
tage, and all good and wise men should strive to 
possess it ; for it will not only bring to them the 
love, esteem, and praises of all just and gracious 
persons, but it will also spur them on to do in- 
estimable good in promoting the welfare and 
happiness, of their fellow -creatures. 

A young boy was once brought from a hot clime 
to the North. His greatest desire was to enter the 
military. Accordingly, a position in one of the 
academies was obtained for him. Here he stay- 
ed for some years, devoting himself diligently to 
his studies, and at an early age entered the ar- 
tillery as a lieutenant. The country into whose 
services he had entered was, at the time, in a ter- 
rible state. Unjust wars externally, and revolu- 
tions internally were tearing her to pieces. The 
young lieutenant burned to gain honor and for the 
good of his country. He was, on recommenda- 
tion, sent to a siege, where he greatly distinguish- 
ed himself. Shortly after this he was called in to 
put down a great mob in the capital city. For 
his services here rendered he was given the com- 



32 

mand of a ragged and worn-out army, to fight 
against foes well clothed and disciplined, and five 
times as strong as the one he was to command. 
But this young man foresaw that neither fine 
clothes, nor dog training, nor numbers make the 
soldier, and so he accepted the command, swear- 
ing honor or death. He gained the former and 
thus saved his country from the grasping hands 
of the tyrants around her. The whole world 
looked at these mighty deeds with admiration. 
Praises from a whole nation were showered upon 
this young man, who received them with modesty. 
His country, in gratitude for the great services he 
rendered her, raised him to the highest honors. 
Need it be said that this young man became the 
greatest of generals, " the Hero of five hundred 
battles" ? 

The last and mightiest advantage which an ob- 
ject in life will bring to us is power. 

Senator is an honest man. He has always 
wished for power, in order that he might use it, 
as it ought ever to be used, in the welfare of man- 
kind. He thinks less of himself and the gold 
which he might pocket, than he does of his coun- 
try. His one great aim is to assist in raising the 
land of his fathers high in the list of nations. He 
tries to improve the morals of the people, make 
the citizens happy and contented, and protect 
their property and rights at home and abroad, by 
enacting wise and just laws, As long as Sdna- 



33 

tor remains in power he will not only gain advan- 
tages thereby, but also the people who keep him 
there. 

Presidentus is another man possessing great 
power in the land, and, when honest and a true 
patriot of his country, can do inestimable good. 
The people by whose votes he obtains his position 
should honestly strive to select the proper man 
from motives of true patriotism instead of party 
feeling, so that whoever may fill that exalted sta- 
tion shall rule in wisdom and righteousness, and 
thus win the universal love of the nation, and 
print in golden letters a name immortal in the 
records of history. 

In order to be successful in the pursuit of any 
object in life, we must first have ability for the 
particular object which we wish to pursue. If a 
lady who, in a phrenological point of view, has a 
deficiency of the faculties of form, size, color, and 
ideality, wishes to become and excel as a painter, 
no matter how much she may practice the art, she 
will never achieve success; because she has not 
those special qualities, sufficiently good, which 
every great artist must possess. She may, it is 
true, b} r practice, study, and diligence, reach a 
passable point in the fine art, but beyond this she 
can have no hope. If this lady had decided to be- 
come an authoress, all things being equal, she 
might perhaps, with some little labor, have be- 
come more than successful, 



34 

A young* man, bright with hopes for the future^ 
thinks that he would like very much to become a 
physician, and, accordingly, he goes to the medi- 
cal school, entering it without even a condition. 
A few days later he is taken into the dissecting 
room ; but has not been there long before he is 
taken out in a dead faint. He is, on this account, 
obliged to give up the pursuit of such a course, 
thus blighting in the very bud his most full-blown 
hopes. If this young man had only considered 
well the disadvantages and obstacles of pursuing 
such a course, or, if he had had some kind hand to 
point them out to him, he would undoubtedly 
have been saved much sore pain and trouble, and, 
instead, could have employed his time thus wasted 
to much better account for himself. As it is, how- 
ever, he is obliged, in some other pursuit, to begin 
entirely anew. 

Another young man is sent to college by his 
father, who wishes him to become an engineer; 
because one of his ancestors had proved to be a 
Stephenson ; and therefore, he wished his dear un- 
willing boy to be one also. His son, however, has so 
little talent for mathematics that, when up at the 
board, his mistakes in proving simple propositions 
in geometry subject him to the ridicule and laugh- 
ter, of all the other students present. They say, 
as is natural enough, that in mathematics he is a 
u non compos mentis" and that he will never 
pass his examination. 



u 

The same young man belongs to a literary 
society of which his father at first disapproved, 
as he thought it distracted his mind from his col- 
lege studies. Now, if one of an afternoon should 
have followed this young man to this society 
when it held its weekly meetings, and have heard 
him recite, deliver debates, and read aloud beau- 
tiful and masterly compositions, of his own make 
and construction, they would justly have thought 
any one insane who would have said him to be a 
"non compos mentis ." 

After dragging himself through college with 
difficulty for one or two very dull years, this 
stupid young man, as he is called by students and 
parents, is at last dropped from his class ; and 
he, not in the least sorry for it, betakes himself 
to literary pursuits, the delight of his heart, and 
soon, to the astonishment of the world, distin- 
guishes himself as a prominent author. 

Thus we see that if one wishes to be successful in 
life, it is absolutely necessary for him to employ 
his brains in a pursuit for which he has ability. 
Further, let no one flatter himself with the hope 
that even by hard labor and practice, he may yet 
overcome the disadvantages in the pursuit of 
some darling object in view for which he has no 
ability, and reach perfection ; for as sure as the 
light of day rises in the dawning east and sets 
in the glowing west, he will rue some day the 
sad consequences which always follow misdirect- 



86 

ed effort, and will likewise see that he has wasted, 
unnecessarily, the talents which in some other pur- 
suit, to which nature had adapted him, he might 
have gained untold of wealth, honor, and power. 

A second very important principle which we 
must strictly observe, if we wish to be successful 
in pursuing an object in life, is to concentrate our 
entire thoughts upon the one subject in hand, un- 
til we have thoroughly accomplished what we 
have begun, not letting them be divided or con- 
tinually wander from one thing to another. An 
author says, " Extreme heat can only be produc- 
ed when the rays converge to a single point." 
Let all persons, both young and old, consider and 
weigh well the truthfulness and import of these 
admirable words, and then carefully draw forth 
for themselves their own just conclusions. 

Vacillatio is a young man who has just passed 
his examination as a lawyer. He has set himself 
up in an office ; but, after a while, finding business 
to be rather dull, he becomes sick of the law and 
thinks that he will become a painter. According- 
ly, in the twinkling of an eye, he turns his law 
office into a studio, and starts work enthusiasti- 
cally, on heads. A friend one day, soon after, 
happens to step in to see him, and says, "My 
dear fellow, there's no money in painting; you 
ought to become an architect like myself." Pres- 
to ! away go paint-brushes, easel, and all. Va- 
cillatio, having just arrived at the obstacles of 



8? 

painting, has now set up aa an architect. He 
soon sees as before, however> that architects are 
not made in a day, nor without great toil, and 
shortly after, becoming tired of this, starts work 
on something else. So on he goes through all the 
arts and professions, till gray hairs actually cover 
his head ; and then, looking back at his past life, 
he sees with much regret how little he has really 
done. If Vacillatto would only have settled his 
mind down to the law, for which he certainly 
had ability, and have stuck to it, knowing that 
every pursuit whatsoever has its toils to be gone 
through, no matter how many and formidable the 
rising obstacles might have been, he would un- 
doubtedly, in the end have succeeded. 

Thirdly, a very important principle is that we 
set out at the very start upon the right path to 
the object which we have decided to reach, to- 
gether with all the necessary means requisite to 
reaching our destination successfully and in safe- 
ty. Many a man who has shown great ability for 
some one or the other pursuit in life, has failed 
just because he set to work in the wrong way. 

If we cannot decide for ourselves which may be 
the right paths to pursue, then we should get our 
information from judicious friends, persons whom 
we really know to be capable of setting us aright, 
and at the same time we should inquire into all 
the paths into which we might be led astray as 
we plod along. If Philosopho had not acquainted 



38 

himself with some wise and judicious philosophers 
of the day, he would never have gained the suc- 
cess which now crowns him with everlasting 
glory. As it is, he is a great philosopher. 

Another and last very important principle, to be 
observed in the successful pursuit of an object in 
life, is that we must make up our minds, at the 
very start, to work as hard as ever we can. Un- 
less we do so we must despair of success ; for ex- 
perience, in every case, without exception, has 
shown this to be the candid truth. The busy bee 
works as hard to gather its honey as an eagle does 
to mount the Alpine height : the law of success 
is work. 

Quackenbos, in his excellent work on composi- 
tion and rhetoric, has the following just lines : 
" Men are not born great composers any more than 
they are born skillful carpenters or expert shoe- 
makers. Proficiency in either vocation is the re- 
sult of study and practice." Now, this is not only 
true of all who wish to succeed in literal pursuits, 
and of all who wish to succeed in the pursuits of 
carpenters and shoemakers ; but it is true of all 
who wish to succeed in any pursuit, from the 
lowest to the highest, whether they be mental or 
manual. 

People, in general, have a sort of vague idea that 
geniuses are born, not made ; that they have been 
gifted with knowledge, wisdom, and learning, as 
well as with talents, from the very cradle, and all 



39 

that is necessary for them to do is to sit down 
when they become men and women, and excel at 
anything*, though they never so much as read a 
book or studied and meditated in their lives ; and 
this, as such persons think, being the case, those 
having a poor opinion of themselves, give up at 
the start, without even so much as trying ; for, 
say they with a sigh, " Ah ! well, God has not seen 
fit to make us poor creatures geniuses, and, there- 
fore, there's little use in us trying to do anything." 
And, on the other hand, those having a natural 
burning desire within them to be called by the 
name of genius — a simple word expressing hard- 
ships gone through in the pathway of talent — set 
to work in this delightfully pleasant and easy 
manner, only to find out that if they do not suc- 
ceed actually in making fools of themselves, they 
may never hope to rise to anything higher. Now 
let us advise all such anxious persons who would 
wish to become geniuses in a greater or less de- 
gree — and there are few men, excluding absolute 
fools, who have not the parts, if they only knew 
it, to excel in some one or another vocation — get, 
as soon as possible, this silly notion of excelling 
without working out of their heads; and this 
done, let them apply themselves in true earnest, 
being comforted in knowing that he who has 
the power and the will to work the longest, 
steadiest, and hardest, will in the end, pro- 
vided he be at the right vocation, become great, 



40 

if not a genius, in any particular pursuit what- 
soever. 

We shall now proceed to lay down a simple, 
though useful, method which may be followed 
with success by all those w T ho have fully decided 
and are resolved to pursue some worthy and 
useful object in life, but who have not yet fixed 
its direction. If any one can form a better 
method than the one that is to follow, or even add 
to it, let him by all means, as a man of wisdom, 
do so ; but in case that he cannot, he may fully 
rest his mind assured that he can employ, to the 
greatest advantage to himself, the one here laid 
down ; because all the general principles of this 
method have been observed with success by many 
great, wise, and learned men in choosing their 
respective pursuits in life. 

In the first place, then, we should inquire 
diligently for what particular pursuit in life we 
have a special ability, and whether it be adapted 
to the circumstances of life in which we may be 
placed. This should be done slowly and thought- 
fully. We should give deep, careful, deliberate, 
and concentrated thought to the subject. We 
should view it on all sides and in all lights. We 
should leave no stone unturned to get a full, 
clear, and decided view for what we are fit. If a 
day will not do to enable us to decide upon this 
important step, take a week, or a month, or 
more. It is infinitely better to decide slowly but 



41 

surely at the start, than to be hasty, and later 
on be obliged to retrace our footsteps on account 
of error, thus costing' us twice as much time, 
labor, and patience. 

We have already shown the absolute necessity 
of pursuing such an object in life, only, as will 
best suit our individual mental and physical 
organizations, and the evil consequences which are 
always sure to follow r when we do not do so. 
All, then, that now remains for us to do, is to 
show by what means we may best be enabled to 
ferret out the knowledge of our several capa- 
bilities. This means to be employed we state, in 
a few words, to be the study of phrenology, an 
easy and practicable glimpse of wdiich, or an 
hour or two in consultation with a practical phre- 
nologist, will give us all the knowledge required. 

The study of phrenology, in the first place, will 
give us a thorough insight of our own characters 
and those of others ; in the second place, it will 
show us our weak and strong points, and how we 
may employ them to the best advantage ; and in 
the third place, it will tell us, what more directly 
concerns us at present, for what particular pur- 
suit in life we are the best fit. Such a book on 
phrenology may be had of all large book stores 
for a small price ; and certainly, seeing the vast 
amount of knowledge, self-knowledge most useful 
to ourselves to be gained, he who is wise enough 
will seek, without delay, to enter upoii this 



43 

and syntax; we must ground ourselves in punctu- 
ation, rhetoric, and invention ; the more foreign 
languages we can read, the better ; and we should 
try to build up as much useful knowledge in gen- 
eral as possible, but especially upon that subject 
about which we intend to write. 

Therefore, in order to collect together these 
tools, we should, provided the means admit, read 
up some good practical elementary book on the 
subject, that we may, together with the knowledge 
or tools thereby to be collected, lay up in our 
minds a solid foundation upon which to build up 
all further matter. If this, however, from the 
nature of the pursuit, be inadmissible, we should 
then, by some means best known to ourselves, be 
introduced to men who are thorough masters of 
the particular pursuit, and from them, if they be 
honest, reliable, and have the time and inclina- 
tion to inform us, we should be able to gain all 
the required knowledge to launch us safely upon 
our contemplated voyage ; or, if we have the 
means to do so, we should put ourselves under 
the guidance of an instructor. 

Thirdly and lastly, when we have decided upon 
the pursuit of some one worthy object in life and 
have collected the necessary tools together, we 
should inquire how far we may advance it with 
the greatest success to ourselves, being particu- 
larly careful to fix upon some standard which we 
may hope to reach. This will have a most pow- 



42 

most interesting as well as useful, field of 
inquiry. 

To prove tlie usefulness and truthfulness of 
phrenology, — which, we may just state, has been 
done fully and satisfactorily, by many eminent 
men — is not the present purpose of this essay; but, 
in order to clear the minds of a few sceptics, we 
shall just quote from one of our late great ora- 
tors, Mr. Henry Ward Beecher, who made phre- 
nology a life study, the following words on the 
science, which he delivered in one of his masterly 
lectures: "For twenty years phrenology has 
been the foundation upon which I have worked." 
Whether the words of Mr. Beecher carry with 
them any weight — and experience has certainly 
shown that they do — every man or woman who 
knows anything of his great success in life must, 
of course, judge best for himself. 

The second verj important step to be taken, 
after we have fully decided for what particular 
pursuit we are best fitted, is to inquire carefully 
about the tools necessary to be employed in that 
pursuit. If a man wishes to build a house, he 
must first have the necessary implements, at hand, 
with which to do so ; and, further, he must have 
a thorough practical knowledge of how they are 
to be used. Now, this applies also to every other 
pursuit. For instance, suppose that we would 
wish to become an author. We must then gain 
a thorough knowledge of grammar, etymology, 



44 

erf ul tendency to spur us on, as well as to impress 
upon our minds a deep sense of what we are and 
of what we are not capable of performing-, and we 
will then not remain satisfied till we have reached 
the pinnacle of our ambition. Further, in fixing 
this standard we should bear in mind that in at- 
tempting- to reach it, we should do so in the best 
and most energetic manner in which we know how, 
determined to overcome all obstacles that may be 
thrown in our way, and exerting- all our might, 
energy, and skill to its proper accomplishment. 

Succeedo is now a great statesman. His father 
was a poor candlestick maker, and could not afford 
even to give his son a proper education. V/hen 
Succeedo was fourteen years old he was sent to 
a printer's office to learn the trade. Here he got 
his first real taste of books. He saw that there 
were two classes of books which passed through 
his hands — books containing solid food for the 
mind and books containing trash. He decided, 
with his good judgment, to improve his mind with 
the former, and to have little or nothing to do 
with latter. Having always had a great desire 
to become a statesman, he got a thorough knowl- 
edge of history, political economy, and politics; 
and says he, " My success in life is greatly due to 
the manner in which I read those books, especially 
the lives of great politicians." Continuing, he 
further adds, " I did so carefully and deliberately, 
reviewing often ; I got stored up into my mip# 



45 

the many errors into which statesmen have fallen, 
and the main causes and effects of such errors. 
On the other hand, I was particularly careful to 
mark with the pencil and look into the causes of 
theii success. I then, after careful consideration, 
decided upon that statesman whom I wished to 
come up with, or, if possible, excel, being- very 
careful at the same time to avoid his bad points 
while I took to myself his good ones." Now, this 
is just what we w x ould advise our reader to do, 
and if he does so, all things being equal, he will 
be as successful as Succeedo. 

Thus we have seen the absolute necessity and 
the many great advantages of the pursuit of an 
object in life, together with how we may g*ain suc- 
cess therein, and how we are to set to work in de- 
ciding upon one, suited to our organization. More- 
over, all who will pursue one — and surely, in these 
enlightened times, there ought to be no sensible 
man so contemptible that he will not, will have 
opened wide to them wealth, honor, power, and 
happiness, all that is good, noble, and w r orth pos- 
sessing, all that can comfort and make glad the 
heart, or ease the mind, in youth or old age ; and, 
if they will only be willing to be patient, persever- 
ing*, and painstaking, not giving* up because fools 
may laugh or sneer at them, or because their 
hearts, at times, become faint, success must be 
theirs as sure as that winter, with all his biting 
blasts and gloominess, is followed by summer with 



46 

all her warmth and smiling- beauties, — to be un- 
successful, will be an utter impossibility. 

Reader, if you are not already upon the track 
of some worthy pursuit in life, it is to you, per- 
sonally, as a man or woman of sense, that the 
author earnestly and respectfully, addresses the 
following lines ; and it is his sincere and only wish 
that you, by giving them a just perusal, may be 
thereby benefited, and that God may aid you in 
so doing'. 

If you do not pursue an object in life, it is your 
bounden duty, as man or woman, to do so imme- 
diately ; it is your duty towards your family, in 
whose happiness and success you have deep in- 
terest ; it is your duty towards your country, for 
you ought to make some return for the laws and 
regulations, which it has for your protection and 
happiness; it is your duty towards yourself, since 
you ought to possess that amount of self-esteem 
which will not allow you to lower yourself in the 
eyes of your fellow-creatures ; and, finally, it is 
your duty as a good Christian to employ those 
talents which are yours, and with which God 
has been so merciful as to endow you. 

As a last and earnest entreaty, peruse carefully 
the following true and soul-inspiring lines from 
the sacred writings, and if you will always keep 
them well impressed in your mind, success and 
happiness, through life's long voyage, must ever 
crown your deeds : " Ask, and it shall be given 



47 

3^0U ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall 
open unto you; for every one that asketh re- 
ceiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him 
that knocketh, it shall be opened." 



FINIS. 



AN OBJECT IN LIFE, 



AND 




TO ATTAII IT. 



BY 



F. Leopold Schmidt, Jr. 



FOWLER & WELLS CO., 

775 BROADWAY, 
NEW YORK. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 

PreservationTechnologies 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 611 947 3 




